Covid-19's devastation is not evenly distributed:

The disease is deadlier in men
The economic fallout hits women harder

Unlike the last recession, the current downturn is disproportionately hurting women’s employment https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

This recession is tougher for women because...

1) This crisis has battered sectors where women’s employment is concentrated
2) Shutdowns have closed schools and daycares, keeping kids at home and making it even harder for parents to keep working https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

April jobs data from the U.S. show that unemployment has risen more sharply among American women than men.

Male unemployment rate: 13.3%
Female unemployment rate: 15.7% https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

When looking at unemployment rates by gender and race, there's an even bleaker picture for women of color.

White women: 14.6%
Black women: 15.8%.
Hispanic and Latina women: 19.8% https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

Employment losses in leisure and hospitality were particularly severe in April — the data show employment in this sector plunged by 7.7 million, or 47%.

Employment in education and health services also took a nose dive, losing 2.5 million jobs https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

With millions of children stuck at home, childcare and education is undoubtedly cutting into parents' ability to work.

This is especially problematic for single parents. In the U.S., single moms make up nearly 70% of all single-parent households https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

Shutdowns also create more housework, cooking and cleaning.

For decades, women in heterosexual couples have done the majority of this unpaid work — even when they out-earn their husbands https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

This unequal division of labor likely hasn’t changed that much since the onset of the pandemic.

The @nytimes found that some men are oblivious to this: 45% of surveyed men believed they spent more time homeschooling, but only 3% of women agreed https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

Women are doing the same amount of housework they were doing in the 70s, but they’re also doing more paid work.

When you include both paid and unpaid labor, men work about two hours less than women each week https://trib.al/grpj1KK 

Historically, disruptions like the one we’re living through can lead to lasting social change.

If policymakers and employers design recovery efforts with gender equality in mind, it would create a more level playing field in the future https://trib.al/grpj1KK